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Migraciones Internacionales e-ISSN: 2594-0279

Artículos

Vol. 4 Núm. 14 (2008): enero-junio, 2008

Undocumented vs. Illegal Migrant: Towards Terminological Coherence

DOI
https://doi.org/10.17428/rmi.v4i14.1158
Publicado
2017-06-30

Resumen

This article offers a terminological refl ection on the expression “illegal immigrant.”In particular, it argues against the arbitrary choice of terminology used to refer toundocumented migration in academic and scientifi c texts. On the basis of certainlegal, linguistic, and sociopolitical concerns, it suggests that the use of “illegal migrant/alien” should be seriously reconsidered and replaced with alternative terms, such as“undocumented” or “irregular immigrant,” which are both terminologically correctand lack the negative social implications of the phrase “illegal immigrant/alien” or“clandestine alien”.RESUMENEl propósito de este artículo es ofrecer una refl exión terminológica acerca de la expresión“migrantes ilegales”. En particular, trata sobre el uso arbitrario de la terminologíaempleada para referirse a la migración indocumentada en textos académicos y científicos. Tomando en consideración argumentos jurídicos, lingüísticos y sociopolíticos,se señala que expresiones como “migrante ilegal” o “migrante clandestino” debenconsiderarse seriamente y sustituirse con términos alternativos, tales como “migranteirregular” o “migrante indocumentado”, los que, además de ser conceptualmentecorrectos, son términos que evitan las implicaciones sociales negativas que tienen lasotras expresiones.

Imagen de portada

Palabras clave

  • undocumented migrants
  • irregular migrants
  • terminology
  • conceptual analysis
  • illegal migrants

Cómo citar

Paspalanova, M. (2017). Undocumented vs. Illegal Migrant: Towards Terminological Coherence. Migraciones Internacionales, 4(14), 79–90. https://doi.org/10.17428/rmi.v4i14.1158
Aviso de derechos de autor/a

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